Characterization of Dissolved Solids in the Ohio River

1. Characterization of Dissolved Solids in the Ohio River Technical Committee meeting June 4-5, 2013

2. Background • Commission adopted 500 mg/L standard for TDS in June 2011 • Rivers Users Program developed study to investigate TDS and major ions • Water Users simultaneously proposed similar study for bromide • Integrated the two study plans for cost efficiencies and more robust data set

3. Study Objectives • Characterize ambient background levels of TDS • Quantify TDS constituent makeup to evaluate seasonal and spatial variability • Develop site-specific translators to convert conductivity to TDS • Provide data to support possible development of an Ohio River bromide stream criterion

4. Sampling Design • Weekly samples collected at 16 sites • Collection sites located at water intakes • Participants identified through the WUAC and PIAC • Sampling conducted for 1-year • December, 2011 thru December 2012 • Analysis – In-house and contract lab

6. Analysis • pH • Conductivity • Temperature • Stream flow Dissolved Solids Analytes Supplemental Parameters • Chloride • Sulfate • Bromide • Fluoride • Bicarbonate • Total Dissolved Solids Sodium Potassium Magnesium Calcium Lithium

7. What do the results tell us about ambient levels of TDS? • Peak concentration in Ohio River was 368 mg/L • Median level ~200 mg/L • Highest levels on Muskingum and Big Sandy Rivers • 584 mg/L and 579 mg/L respectively • Lowest levels on Allegheny R.

8. Are there seasonal variations? • Highest concentrations observed in late Aug./early Sept. • Stream flow is major driver of seasonal variation • Concentrations of TDS and most ions are inversely correlated with Q • All Ohio River samples well below 500 mg/L std., even during low flow conditions

9. What are the major ions? • 5 ions makeup 93% of TDS in Ohio River • Sulfate, bicarbonate, calcium, chloride, sodium • Bromide is typically <0.05% • Sulfate and chloride combined account for 43% of TDS

10. How does ionic composition vary spatially? • SO4 decreases from upstream to down • 36% at mile 12 to 21% at mile 978 • Beaver R. 19%; Big Sandy 42% • HCO3 doubles from 19% in Pittsburgh to 38% in Cairo • Calcium remains fairly consistent (13-16%) • Cl- shows general decline from 14.5% at mile 137 to 8.8% at mile 792 • Big Sandy 4%; Beaver R. 19% • Sodium decreases moving downstream • 11% in Pittsburgh to 7% in Cairo • Bromide generally highest in upper river

13. What is the relationship of TDS and conductivity in the Ohio River? • Conductivity sometimes used as surrogate for TDS • 0.67 is commonly used to convert conductivity to TDS • Reported conversion factors range from 0.5 to nearly 1 • Conv. factor depends on ionic composition • Compared TDS to specific conductance • Ohio River conversion factors ranged from 0.55 to 0.58 • Could overestimate TDS by 20% using 0.67 conv. factor.

14. Still to Come • Address Study Objective #4: Evaluate relationship between bromide in source water to THM formation in finished drinking water • Solicit comments on draft report from Technical Committee, River Users, Water Users, others(?). • Final draft to be distributed with agenda for approval at October meeting

15. Questions ?